LSE Launches New MSc Finance and Private Equity Programme

LSE's Department of Finance is delighted to announce the launch of a new programme, MSc Finance and Private Equity, which commences in September 2010. The MSc programme is part of a major new imitative in the study and teaching of private equity within the Department, funded with generous support from Abraaj Capital, a leading Dubai-based private equity firm.

The MSc will provide places for 20 students, with applications being accepted from October 2009 onwards. The programme is designed to give students a comprehensive foundation in finance, with subsequent depth in the field of private equity. Applicants need not have a specific background in finance to apply, but should have strong undergraduate degrees and be able to demonstrate excellent quantitative skills.

The programme follows the core structure of the MSc Finance (full-time) programme, with an additional core course in private equity. The private equity course will be taught by the newly created Abraaj Capital Chair in Private Equity. It will explore the structure of private equity (PE) funds and how PE can be used in start-ups, in scaling-up cash flow businesses, and in restructuring firms facing financial distress. It explores the link between PE and venture capital on the one hand and public securities markets on the other.

For more information about applying, please see the Graduate Prospectus.

Programme Structure

Term 1: Compulsory courses

  • Corporate Finance
  • Asset Markets

Term 2: Compulsory course

  • Private Equity*

Optional courses

Choose three half-unit options from the following list of courses (*half unit):

  • Applied Financial Valuations*
  • Financial Engineering*
  • Fixed Income Securities and Credit Markets*
  • Topics in Portfolio Management*
  • Risk Management and Financial Institutions*
  • Applied Corporate Finance*
  • Corporate Finance Theory*
  • International Finance*

Students will be required to write a 6,000 word extended essay as 80 per cent of the assessment in the core Private Equity course.